How to write a stunning A1 English Language and Literature Paper 2 essay
For this paper, you will have to choose ONE essay title from a number of options. The essay titles are generic which means they can be used to discuss a huge number of different books. The essay you write has to be based on the books we did in Part 3 of the syllabus i.e. Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen and My Name is Salma by Fadia Fariq.
Notes from the Examiners (people who mark the essays!)
“Criterion A is most often the greatest challenge. Many weaker essays struggle to establish more than a superficial or partial awareness of the implications of the question and often also struggle to provide supporting examples. In some cases it appears that the question has not been read accurately and thus the answer moves in a questionable direction. Additionally, and as in the past, effective paragraphing needs to be emphasized. Also, many need reminding that an effective essay requires structure and organization, along with the employment of relevant, effectively integrated examples. Finally, a note on handwriting: many examiners commented on the growing frequency of scripts that are very difficult to read.
Many examiners again commented on the growing frequency of “illegible, sloppy, faint, or painfully tiny handwriting.”
The examiners are therefore suggesting that the chances of writing an excellent essay are significantly improved if you write on one of the literary titles. Your essay needs to refer to AT LEAST TWO of the three books in the group. You can mention other works outside the group of 3 BUT they must not become the focus of your essay. Concentrate on the works Much Ado About Nothing, Pride and Prejudice and My Name is Salma.
Based on the examiners’ comments, your objective for the A1 English Language and Literature Paper 2 (Essay) is to respond to the question: Your essay is an argument – a thesis. Do not just agree with the opening statement and add examples. Argue – and start each paragraph referring to the wording of the question and show how you are looking at the authors’ methods and practices.
Each paragraph must be discussion of writers’ choices – use of literary features to evoke Macbeth’s villainy (for example), use of contrast with other characters to emphasize his essential moral nature. (N.B. by whose moral standards are we judging anyway?)
Planning and Drafting the Critical Essay
An essay is a carefully organised answer to a question. If your topic is not a
question, rethink it so that it is. A number of accepted conventions about what an essay should look like have developed. They provide a useful framework for presenting ideas.
The conventions of the essay
Conventions about structure
• It has an introductory paragraph, which shows the focus of the essay and indicates
the main points to be covered.
• The body of the essay consists of a number of paragraphs, each of which:
- deals with one main point about the text
- has a topic sentence.
· It has a concluding paragraph
Conventions about language
• Language is generally formal
• Full paragraphs and sentences are used rather than numbered points and headings.
• Although formal, the essay should be interesting to read.
Conventions about references and quotations
• Titles of full length works, such as films or novels are underlined or placed in italics.
• Titles of shorter works such as articles, stories and chapters are placed in
‘quotation’ marks.
• Authors are referred to by their full name or surname.
• Where words, phrases or sentences from the text are used in analysis, they are placed in
quotation marks. Reference with the page number in brackets.
Structure
• Helps you organise your thoughts in a logical manner
• Makes it easier for the reader to follow your essay.
The Introduction
The introduction is more than just a beginning. Just because a paragraph starts an essay does not mean that it is an effective introduction. The point of the introduction is to tell your reader:
• Where you are coming from
• Where you are going
How shall I do this?
1. Briefly introduce the text you are writing about, including the title and writer
2. State the focus/ point of view of your answer to the question. This is the
controlling idea of the essay. Your sentence may use some words from the essay question;
better still use your own words.
3. Outline the main points (3-4), in order, that you will make in explaining your answer. This
is called your planning sentence(s) because it contains the plan for the body of the essay.
The Body of the Essay
The body of the essay will have 3-4 paragraphs, each dealing with one of the main points outlined in your planning sentence in the introduction. The well –constructed paragraph, one that is easy to follow, has:
• a topic sentence which is like a sign post because it lets the reader know that you have
finished with one point and are moving on to another. It often has three parts:
- a transition part , linking words to lead into the new idea ( words like: ‘in addition’, ‘
however’, ‘secondly’, ‘another aspect of’ . . . )
- words that refer back to the controlling idea
- and the main point for this paragraph
• the topic sentence is followed by supporting sentences that explain the main point, often
using evidence from the text and which may include a short (1-2 line) quotation.
The Conclusion
The conclusion is your final paragraph. It should:
- sum up the main points of the essay
- give a sense of completion
The conclusion is often the hardest part of the essay to write because it can end up sounding exactly like the introduction and that can be rather repetitive. The trick is to put a slightly different ‘spin’ on the controlling idea indicating the importance of what you have written. The final sentence needs to be strong, showing your conviction about the answer you have given to the essay question.
Language
Essays use formal language so slang and contractions (don’t = do not) are best avoided. Your essay is your opinion on the topic so do not waste words with “I think” or “in my opinion” or “my view is”, in fact while it is not forbidden, not using “I” helps you write in a formal way.
Formal writing does not mean that you should use long unfamiliar words; good writers rely mostly upon short simple words. Take care to avoid clichéd worn out phrases like “a picture is worth a thousand words”. This way of writing an essay works, and if this is your very first essay, do not
read further! However some students are writing so confidently that they do not need to follow the formula so rigidly. It is quite possible to write with structure without the bones showing through the fabric. You can write about a theme without actually using the word “theme”, you can write about symbolic language without using the exact terms …. Of course you can, and you can enjoy implying rather than plainly stating your point of view. An essay is an opportunity for carefully crafted writing; perhaps this will be your best piece so far.
INTRODUCTION: leave writing the introduction until the end – leave sufficient space – it doesn’t matter if there are a few lines gap but you won’t need more than 2/3 of a page.
After your introduction:
PARAGRAPH 2: a paragraph justifying your two choices and briefly contextualizing them. This means you have to explain why you think the two/three books you have chosen are good choices for answering the question posed in the title. You need to give a little information – title, author, date of publishing, what might have prompted the author to write it, how it was received by the public (Was it influential? Well-reviewed? Did it become a classic?)
PARAGRAPH THREE: open your discussion of the first “book” (Remember that if you only saw the film, DON’T talk about the film but talk of the story or the book.)
PARAGRAPH FOUR: contrast with the second “book”
YES – you need close reference and QUOTATIONS – you must analyze them. How does Darcy appear as an effective character? Why might this be important? This does not mean you have to memorize quotations – provided you can give the rough gist of the words and you know how these words fit into the text, that is sufficient e.g. We get an idea of the fact that Benedick is afraid to commit to one woman because he has not yet met one woman who embodies all his ideal.
CONCLUSION: at the end, you must make sure it shows you are considering your reaction to the question. Are you making a judgment as to the effectiveness of either or both authors in their response to a given theme?
THEN GO BACK TO YOUR INTRODUCTION: and, avoiding I me, my, give a brief preamble about what your essay will discuss and what you hope to prove or illustrate.
Stylistic Devices
Below is a list of devices which writers sometimes use to great effect in their work. DO NOT panic and think that you have to comment on examples of ALL or ANY of these. It could be, though, that a writer has used one device to particular effect in the book and it may help you illustrate the point you are trying to make.
In literature and writing, a stylistic device is the use of any of a variety of techniques to give an auxiliary meaning, idea, or feeling to the literal or written.
Figurative language
Figurative language is language using figures of speech. A figure of speech is any way of saying something other than the ordinary way.
Metaphor
A metaphor is a comparison used to add descriptive meaning to a phrase (without using the words "like" or "as"). Metaphors are generally not meant literally, and may have little connotative similarity to the concepts they are meant to portray.
Example: The man's arm exploded with pain, spider-webs of fire crawling up and down its length as the tire of a passing car crushed it.
(There is no literal explosion, spider-web, or fire, but the words are used to create images and draw similarities to the way such an event would feel)
Simile
The easiest stylistic device to find is a simile, because you only have to look for the words "as" or "like". A simile is a comparison used to attract the reader's attention and describe something in descriptive terms.
Example: "From up here on the fourteenth floor, my brother Charley looks like an insect scurrying among other insects." (from "Sweet Potato Pie," Eugenia Collier)
Example: The beast had eyes as big as baseballs and teeth as long as knives.
Example: She put her hand to the boy's head, which was steaming like a hot train.
Synecdoche
Synecdoche occurs when a part of something is used to refer to the whole. Many examples of synecdoche are idioms, common to the language.
Example: Workers can be referred to as 'pairs of hands', a vehicle as 'wheels' or mounted infantrymen as 'horse', the latter appearing to be singular but actually employing the generic plural form: "Napoleon deployed two thousand horse to cover the left flank."
Metonymy
Metonymy is similar to synecdoche, but instead of a part representing the whole, a related object or part of a related object is used to represent the whole. Often it is used to represent the whole of an abstract idea.
Example: The phrase "The king's rifles stood at attention," uses 'rifles' to represent infantry.
Example: The word 'crown' may be used metonymically to refer to the king or queen, and at times to the law of the land.
Personification
Permitting an inanimate object to perform as if it were human.
Pathetic fallacy or Anthropomorphic Fallacy
The treatment of inanimate objects as if they had human feelings, thought, or sensations. The word 'pathetic' in this use is related to 'pathos' or 'empathy' (ability to feel emotion), and is not pejorative.
Pathetic fallacy is similar to personification. Personification is direct and explicit in the ascription of life and sentience to the thing in question, whereas the pathetic fallacy is much broader and more allusive.
Example: The trees bowed down and wept as the lady walked through the garden.
She knew she would never see her husband again.
Apostrophe
Similar to 'personification' but indirect. The speaker addresses someone absent or dead, or addresses an inanimate or abstract object as if it were human.
Charactonym
This is when the name of a character has a symbolic meaning. For example, in Dickens' Great Expectations, Miss Havisham has a sham, or lives a life full of pretence. In Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, Rev. Dimmesdale metaphorically fades away (dims) as the novel progresses, while Chillingworth has a cold (chilled) heart.
Symbol
A symbol may be an object, a person, a situation, an action or some other object that has literal meaning in the story, and that represents something other than itself. It can also be a word or an idea. It is used as an expressive way to depict an idea. The symbol generally conveys an emotional response far beyond what the word, idea, or image itself dictates.
Example: A heart standing for love. (One might say "It broke my heart" rather than "I was really upset")
Example: A sunrise portraying new hope. ("All their fears melted in the face of the newly risen sun.")
Allegory